“Well, I’m not worried about Justin. He’s determined, a hard worker. These guys that are hard workers, that get surgery done, that are in the prime of their career, that are driven, they usually do pretty well in these cases,” Dombrowski said.

“But you also want to be careful that you don’t rush him. I don’t want to rush him. I want him to follow what the doctor says. That’s why I said, if he misses a start, great — do I think he’ll miss a start? No. I don’t. He’s going to throw Monday. It’s not even February yet, and he’s starting to play catch Monday.”

Mowery also provided a statement from Dombrowski discussing Verlander being available for Opening Day:

“You know if Justin’s healthy, he’s going to be one of your four. We’ll just wait and see how it happens,” Dombrowski said. “Basically the doctor has been the one that’s been guiding him, and allowing him to do what he wants to do so far. But that’s why I keep saying, I’m not trying to push him to be ready. We just want him follow what he’s supposed to do, and if that gets him ready to start the season on time — which I think it will — great. But I don’t want it to be some huge thing. That’s why I said, ‘Let’s see what happens.’ I’d be surprised if he’s not ready at this point, from everything I hear.

“I mean, he’s starting to throw already.”

Updates from Friday, Jan. 24

According to Matt Snyder of CBS Sports, Verlander could miss the start of the 2014 season:

Earlier this month, it was revealed that Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander had to undergo core muscle surgery. The thought was that he'd be ready for the beginning of the 2014 season and that's still possible. General manager Dave Dombrowski has, however, left open the possibility that Verlander may need to miss a start or more.

"He's doing great," Dombrowski said (MLB.com). "I'm not concerned for him being out an extended period. If he misses any time of the season, it would only be a very short time period. I'm not ready to say that he will. But he's doing very well."

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Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander is in the recovery process this MLB offseason after undergoing surgery on his abdomen on Thursday, Jan. 9. The team's official Twitter account shared the news:

As Fox Sports' Jon Morosi points out, Verlander has been among the most durable pitchers in all of baseball over the past decade. However, one of his proud streaks could come to an end if he's not healthy come March 31:

Justin Verlander has been on the Tigers' active roster every day for the past eight seasons. Zero trips to the disabled list.

Still, it's unlikely that Detroit will rush Verlander back this offseason.

The 2011 American League MVP and Cy Young Award winner means too much to the franchise. Not to mention he's heading into the second year of a seven-year, $180 million contract, according to Spotrac.com.